WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:06.759 Hello, everybody, this is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Thank you so much 2 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.839 for joining us today, and if you're brand new, welcome to the Daily 3 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:15.560 Hope family. We hope you'll enjoy the teachings of Pastor Rick Warren right here. 4 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:19.440 I'm so excited for all of you to learn about your shape. It 5 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:23.280 might not be the shape you're thinking of right now. Rick loves to use 6 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:31.320 acrostics and this one is shape your shape, your spiritual gifts, heart, 7 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:37.000 abilities, personality and experiences. And one of the reasons I love this series 8 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:40.880 and have shared it with so many friends is because Rick talks about the way 9 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:45.280 God wired you and why you need not just know your shape, but how 10 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:49.920 to use it to do the things that God designed you to do. So 11 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:54.159 let's jump right in. Here's Rick with the final part of a message called 12 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:59.359 Unwrapping your Spiritual Gifts. Now there are no little people in the Family of 13 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.520 God. Part every role is important. How can you say, well, 14 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:07.359 you know, fingernail is not important on a body. Ever lost a fingernail? 15 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:14.840 Hurts? Okay, every part is necessary. Do you know what the 16 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:19.159 most important light is in my house? It's not the big chandelier in the 17 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:25.719 dining room. It's that little dinky light I turn on every night so that 18 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:27.000 when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, 19 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:32.239 I don't stub my toe. You know what, it doesn't you know? 20 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:34.719 When I always say the most important light is that little night light. 21 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.840 Tom always says, Rick, you're lyon because the most important light in the 22 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:42.760 house to use the one that when you open the refrigerator door, it comes. 23 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:48.680 Yeah. Okay, look at this verse up here on the screen. 24 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:52.879 The Bible says this. Each of us finds our meaning. You need to 25 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:56.640 know the meaning of your life. Each of us finds our meaning and function 26 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:00.760 in life as a part of his body. Other words, you're only gonna 27 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:02.519 find it when you get connected to others in his family, God's family. 28 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.959 But as a chopped off finger or cut off toe, we wouldn't amount too 29 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:14.639 much, would we. So since we find ourselves fashion that's shaped into these 30 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:21.400 excellently formed or shaped and marvelously functioning parts of Christ's body, let's just go 31 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:27.840 ahead and be what we're made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves 32 00:02:27.879 --> 00:02:32.199 with each other, trying to be something we aren't. It's just gonna give 33 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:35.719 up the charade, give up the faking, and give up the phoniness. 34 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:42.319 Stop pretending. Just be what God made you to be. Why Because God 35 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:46.240 says when you do that, it shapes your work and it shows your worth. 36 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.599 There's a third thing why you need to know your spiritual gifts because they 37 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:59.800 share your worship. They share your worship. What I mean by that when 38 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.960 you do you use the gifts that God has given you, it is actually 39 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:08.840 an act of worship. What is it that makes God smile? Some people 40 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:14.719 think God only smiles when you're praying or singing or going to church. God 41 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:19.919 smiles when you use the gifts that He's given you. And when you're doing 42 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:23.039 what you were wired to do and shape to do, and you're good at 43 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:29.639 it and it feels good, God goes, that's so cool. I made 44 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:34.120 them to do that. Remember in Chariot's a Fire, that guy Eric Little, 45 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.919 the Runner, said I was made by God to run, and he 46 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:45.520 said, when I run, I feel God's pleasure. God shaped some guys 47 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:50.879 to surf. They're just good at it. And I think when God looks 48 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.919 at me, he's going, that is so cool. I made the waves. 49 00:03:53.080 --> 00:03:58.800 I made the surfer. Look at this this is cool. You don't 50 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:03.159 have to always be doing something spiritual. Quote. But God says, I'm 51 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.560 going to take the gifts that I've given you, and when you use them, 52 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.719 it is actually an active worship. I look down and going, they're 53 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.280 doing it. He's doing it. He's doing it. He's being what I 54 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:18.240 made him to be. And that's exactly what It's an act of worship, 55 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:24.560 and that gives God glory. The Bible says this next verse, when you 56 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:30.079 produce much fruit, this is Jesus talking, My Father is honored and glorified. 57 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:36.160 Now, when you use your gifts correctly, God gets glory. When 58 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:42.279 you don't use them, God doesn't, and you certainly can't please God with 59 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:47.319 gifts you don't have. God doesn't expect you to be talented or gifted at 60 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:53.560 everything. He just wants you to use what he's given you. You know 61 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:58.959 that in the word in the Bible, the word joy and the word gift 62 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.759 actually come from the same Greek words. It's car it's from chorus. It's 63 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:06.920 the word for grace because joy and giftedness goes together. When you use your 64 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:11.800 spiritual gifts, it brings joy to God and it brings joy to you. 65 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:15.240 God goes, They're doing what I made him to do, and you go, 66 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:20.959 this feels good. The greatest feeling in the world is to use your 67 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:29.920 gifts for God's purpose because it works and you know it and you enjoy it. 68 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:31.839 It is the greatest thrill in the world being used by God. It's 69 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:38.600 greater than sex. And if you haven't ever felt that, I pity you. 70 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:42.800 You need to develop the spiritual gifts that are in you so you can 71 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:46.759 enjoy what. There's no feeling in the world like being used by God. 72 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:53.560 Knowing what He made me to be. I'm being, I'm doing. There's 73 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:58.040 a fourth reason why you need to know your gifts because they shine your witness. 74 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:01.920 What do you mean by that, Rick Well, Jesus said this in 75 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:11.240 Matthew five sixteen. Let your light shine in front of people. Then they'll 76 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:14.600 see the good that you do, that's the stuff you're shaped to do, 77 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.759 and they will praise your Father in heaven. You see when you use your 78 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:23.480 spiritual gift and not only makes God happy, makes you happy. It's a 79 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:28.360 witness to other people. It's a testimony to other people. Sometimes you think, 80 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.720 well, this thing called evangelism, what is evangelism? You've heard that 81 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:35.720 word. Evangelism just means sharing good news. It's a Greek word. It 82 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:40.920 means to share the good news. And sometimes people say evangelism that means I 83 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.920 got to be an evangelist. It means I got to go out and, 84 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.480 you know, do something that doesn't feel good to me to do. And 85 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:50.399 sometimes you hear about these people. It seems like everywhere they go they're introducing 86 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.360 people to Jesus. Every time they sit down on a plane. By the 87 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.800 time the plane lands, the whole planes accepted the Lord, you know, 88 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.639 and you go. That never happens to me. I never lead anybody to 89 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:11.519 Christ. Why because you're not using your shape. There are as many ways 90 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:15.680 to tell the good news to people, to share Jesus with others as there 91 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:20.399 are shapes in the world, spiritual gifts and abilities and heart and personality experiences. 92 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.079 There are a million different ways to share the good news. You don't 93 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:28.480 have to do it all in the same way. Mark used to be on 94 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:32.560 staff at Willow Creek Community Church. And don't hold him against him that his 95 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:45.079 best friend has least struggle, but give him a warm welcome thanks suck Well. 96 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.639 I love the theme of the service because I think one of the greatest 97 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:53.680 dangers in the church is that we take on an attitude that says one shape 98 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:59.040 fits all. And I think if there's any area in which that is dangerous, 99 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:03.000 it's this area of fitness or personal evangelism, because we tend to have 100 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:07.279 a stereotypical image in our minds of what that would look like, and it's 101 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:11.839 usually a very hard, bold, you know, hard hitting, confrontational style, 102 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.759 sometimes even a little bit obnoxious, and we think, well, that's 103 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:20.000 not me. And just let you know I can relate to that concern. 104 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:24.040 Let me just tell you a story. I went a number of years ago 105 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:28.959 over to England. I signed up kind of naively for a summer tour of 106 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.320 duty, without quite knowing what I was getting into. And I showed up. 107 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:35.639 I was all green, I was all enthusiastic and boy, what are 108 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:39.320 we gonna do? And I met the team captain and this guy was just 109 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.200 a little bit too enthusiastic, because I said what are we gonna do? 110 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:46.679 He said, I'm glad you asked, oh, okay, well what are 111 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:50.039 we gonna do? And he said, We're gonna go out every morning early, 112 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:54.720 We're gonna knock on doors, We're gonna tell people about Jesus. I 113 00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:00.759 said all day. He said it's gonna be great. That, oh boy, 114 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:05.240 sounds great. And I was just wrestling with this because I knew this 115 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.759 is not my sheep, this is not what God meane this. I don't 116 00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:13.039 have the temperament for knocking on doors of strangers. In fact, let me 117 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.840 just tell you something. Maybe you're not aware of this, but Americans fresh 118 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:22.159 out of Heathrow Airport in London, England, knocking on doors of strangers to 119 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:28.600 tell them about Jesus is not a real popular thing in British culture. They 120 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:33.120 didn't swing the door open and say, ah, Americans, Jesus great, 121 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:37.360 tell me you know. They didn't do that. It wasn't like that. 122 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:39.399 It was more like, what are you doing here? Oh you're from America? 123 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:43.639 When are you going back? They did not want to talk to us 124 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:46.440 in most cases, and it was tough. And I got through the first 125 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:48.879 day and I said, got through that. You know, what are we 126 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.639 doing tomorrow? He said, I'm glad you asked. We're going out again? 127 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:56.879 And it's like, shut up, you know, But we did this, 128 00:09:56.039 --> 00:10:01.399 and we did it day after day for count them eight weeks. That 129 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:07.039 was my response too. And when it was over, I went home and 130 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:13.879 I said, that's it. It's over. I'm done with this evangelism thing. 131 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:16.399 This is not me. It does not fit who I am. It's 132 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:20.279 not what God designed me to do. And so next time someone gets all 133 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:24.480 fired up and tries to recruit someone for an evangelistic tour of duty or adventure 134 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:26.960 somewhere, I'm just going to look him in the eye and say, look, 135 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:33.320 I've done my time. I already did that. So you know, 136 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.039 look, i'll pray for you when you go, I'll support you, you 137 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.200 know all write a check to help meet the expenses. But don't ask me 138 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:43.440 to do this. This is not my deal. Now, you may find 139 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:46.519 it funny as I did, and I think God did that. A year 140 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:52.080 after deciding this is not my deal, I was hired as the director of 141 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.840 evangelism at this large church in Chicago full time. This is what I'm going 142 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.679 to do. And the question is what happened? You know what in your 143 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:03.279 thinking, And let me tell you what it was. I went to a 144 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:07.519 church service at that church and heard the pastor get up and teach from the 145 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.879 Bible. And what he taught was, you know, one shape does not 146 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.279 fit all when it comes to sharing your faith, that you don't have to 147 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:18.200 force yourself in a mold that doesn't fit you. In fact, he held 148 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:20.919 up the Bible and he said, I got good news. Even in the 149 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.559 pages of the scriptures, there's a diversity of approaches. And that was good 150 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:28.559 news to me that day. And then he went on to teach, and 151 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:31.519 I want to just click through the examples he gave, and I hope that 152 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:33.720 this would be liberating to you the way it was to me, Because if 153 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:39.240 you're a follower of Christ, you like I, are called to share your 154 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:41.639 faith. The question is how are you going to do it? So let 155 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.960 me give you some examples. See if you don't relate to some of these, 156 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.799 let me give you the first one. I'm going to come over here 157 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:50.480 to Jerusalem, and this is Acts chapter two, the Day of Pentecost, 158 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.879 and the person here is Peter. And he stood up and he took the 159 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:58.679 confrontational approach to evangelism, which means very direct, very bold. Here's what 160 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:01.919 he did. He said, look, God sent his Messiah, you killed 161 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:07.720 him, and you're in big trouble capital ce confrontation. I'm very bold and 162 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:13.279 direct, but God used it and if you know the story, three thousand 163 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.639 people were cut to the quick and that day became followers of Christ. And 164 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:20.440 the point is Peter was being Peter. He was being who God shaped him 165 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:24.279 to be, and God used it. And here's the other point. Some 166 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:28.639 of you are like Peter. You're very direct, you're hard hitting, you 167 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:31.919 like to make a point, and God can use you in a powerful way. 168 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:35.000 Now this is not my style, but it is the one God used 169 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.159 to reach me when I was nineteen years old. And I'd just like to 170 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.559 unleash those of you with this style to reach people for Christ. Now, 171 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:46.480 don't hurt people, but spread the message. Now let me give you a 172 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:50.600 second example. I'll come over here to Athens, Greece, to the philosophers 173 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.840 and the crowd, and now I'm Paul, and now we're in Act seventeen. 174 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:58.600 And Paul took the intellectual style. He reasoned with them, He presented 175 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:03.120 lodg in evidence to show them, to prove to them that Christianity is true. 176 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.840 And that was natural to Paul. That was his shape. And God 177 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.759 used that and a bunch of those philosophers ended up becoming followers of Jesus as 178 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:16.360 a result of that. Intellectual style, and some of you, like Paul, 179 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:20.399 can reason and use logic to show people that Christianity is true. And 180 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:22.279 I hope there's a bunch of you, because really, out of the six 181 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:26.960 styles, this is the most important of all the styles. Really, this 182 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:31.080 is the most godly of all the styles. Really, this is my style 183 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:37.320 too. So all right, maybe it's not the most important style, but 184 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.360 it is a very important one. We live in a secular culture that wants 185 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:43.600 to know why we believe what we believe. And some of you can reach 186 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.759 people with answers, and that's your style, that's your shape. I love 187 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:52.600 the third one. It's the testimonial, and it's the man who was blind. 188 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:56.000 That Jesus healed the blind man in John chapter nine, and here he 189 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.480 is, all of a sudden on trial for his faith. And I love 190 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:01.120 what he did. He didn't want to give a bunch of logic or confront 191 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:05.159 He just did what was natural to him. He said, look, here's 192 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:07.799 what I know. I used to be blind. Now I can see deal 193 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:13.840 with it, right, What are you gonna argue with my experience? You 194 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.399 know, God healed me, and Jesus did it, and you got to 195 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:18.360 look into him as well, by the way, this is really Lee Strobel's 196 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:22.879 main style. Look. I used to be an atheist, a newspaper reporter. 197 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.600 I was skeptical. Now I've been changed and I know what's true. 198 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:30.960 Deal with it. It's a powerful approach, and some of you, many 199 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.879 of you, can use your stories in the same way. The third example 200 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.360 is Matthew the tax collector. I love what he did because you know, 201 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:39.440 he's thinking, you know, I can't do what those other guys do. 202 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:41.919 How can I reach my friends? Oh? I know how to do is 203 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:46.159 throw a good party. And then he said, wait a minute, I'll 204 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:50.320 throw a different kind of a party, a party with a purpose. Luke 205 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:54.200 five point twenty nine says that he invited his tax collecting buddies along with Jesus 206 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:58.480 and the disciples, and it was an inner personal approach to evangelism. It 207 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:03.879 deepened relationships and God uses that and a lot of you can throw good parties 208 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:09.559 and have people over for a meal and get together and warm it up and 209 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:13.360 then share in an interpersonal way, and that's a powerful approach. The fifth 210 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.720 example is the Samaritan woman. This is John chapter four. Jesus comes in. 211 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:22.919 You know, he draws the water talks about living water, has her 212 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.480 draw the water, starts sharing with her, tells her he's the Messiah, 213 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:30.919 and then she runs up the hill to her town in Samaria and grabs everyone 214 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.720 she knows. And if you know the story, she knew pretty much everyone. 215 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:37.240 And she grabs them and she brings them down. She says, there's 216 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:41.159 a secret service happening down at the well. Jesus is speaking this week. 217 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.399 Come on down, and they all come, and a bunch of those people 218 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:48.519 her friends from Samaria become Christians. And history tells us that's how the church 219 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:52.480 in Samaria began was through her invitational approach. Some of you have that style, 220 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:56.000 and I just want to say all of you can use that one. 221 00:15:56.759 --> 00:16:02.200 The sixth example was a woman named Tabitha, Acts Chapter nine. She made 222 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:04.799 articles of clothing as acts of loving service done in the name of Christ, 223 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:10.320 kind of a first century mother Teresa. And she just loved and served people 224 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:11.840 in ways that made people look to Heaven and say, there must be a 225 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:17.840 God to express love like he does through her. And God used that serving 226 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.600 to reach people. In fact, it was so important that when that woman 227 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:25.759 died, Dorcas ser Tabitha, as she was called when she died, God 228 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:29.559 sent an apostle to pray over her and raise her back to life and put 229 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:33.639 her back into service. So you see there are advantages to having this style. 230 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.919 It's a pretty cool deal. And some of you have that approach, 231 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.919 and through your acts of service, God uses you to pull people toward the 232 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:45.240 Savior. Well, let me just sum this up and say, you know, 233 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:49.799 one shape does not fit all, and if you could just relax and 234 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:55.600 find your own shape and learn to communicate your faith to family and friends in 235 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:57.879 a way that fits you, there's no telling how God would use it. 236 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:00.759 And let me just sum it up with a story real quick. A friend 237 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:04.799 of mine named Julie. She's really my hero and evangelism more than some of 238 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:07.880 the famous names that you can think of, Billy Graham or Greg Laurie. 239 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.960 I love those guys. But Julie one of the quietest, shyest, most 240 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:18.400 introverted people I've ever met. And when she first asked me how to share 241 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:19.960 her faith and how she could reach her husband, you know, I would 242 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:22.240 tell her, and she was so shy, she'd barely look me in the 243 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:26.640 eye, and then she just looked down and take notes. But I kept 244 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.119 cheering, you know, trying to encourage her, trying to coach her, 245 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.400 and she got bolder. She found her shape, She found that she was 246 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:36.559 the interpersonal style, and she began to reach out in natural ways to her 247 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.640 husband and family. And it wasn't too long before her husband came to Christ, 248 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:45.079 and then her two teenage daughters made commitments, and then some of her 249 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:49.839 nephews and neighbors. And get this, in one year, shy, quiet 250 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:56.200 and shy and introverted Julie in one year helped lead sixteen people to become followers 251 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:00.079 of Jesus Christ. Isn't that great? And I just want to tell you, 252 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:04.839 I just want to say, if God can use Julie, he can 253 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:11.519 use you to make an eternal impact on the people around you. If you'll 254 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:15.880 discover your shape and work through the design God gave you, He'll use you 255 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:22.519 beyond your imagination. So go for it, God bless He's ready for it. 256 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:32.400 So how do you start using the gifts to God put inside of you? 257 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:33.599 Four things? Write them down real quick. Number one, you got 258 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:37.160 to discover them. You got to know what they are for you can use 259 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:41.359 them. You got to stop neglecting the fact that inside of you are some 260 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:47.039 dormant gifts that you're not even using. The Bible says in one Timothy four 261 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:52.440 fourteen, do not neglect the spiritual gift that is inside you. That's in 262 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:56.319 you. You got to figure out what God has put in you. Now, 263 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:03.319 how do you discover your spiritual gifts? Things you examine, evaluate and 264 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:10.359 experiment. Examine, evaluate, and experiment. This is how you decide and 265 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:14.960 discover what you're good at. First, you examine. That means you study 266 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:19.759 spiritual gifts. We're going to do that during this next five six weeks in 267 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:22.839 Shape. If you're not in a small group, you need to get in 268 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:27.680 a small group because this material is not being shared on Sunday morning. It's 269 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:33.079 material on how to understand your Shape's curriculum and Bible study. You need to 270 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:36.720 get in a small group. The second thing you do is you evaluate what 271 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.799 you're good at. And here's how you do that. You ask other people, 272 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:44.720 what do you think I'm good at? Yeah, ask other people what 273 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:48.920 do you think I'm good at? Because other people will recognize your giftedness before 274 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:52.200 you do. There are certain things you do well you don't even know you're 275 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:56.279 good at them because you think you're naturally, you think, it's naturally that 276 00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:59.079 everybody thinks that way, acts that way, feels the way they don't. 277 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.880 Other people will recognize your spiritual gifts before you do. It is in their 278 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:11.920 affirmation that you learn your spiritual gifts. Would I could have gone one hundred 279 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.880 years of my life and never known that I was gifted at teaching because I'd 280 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:22.039 never done it. And you know, I had to go out and I 281 00:20:22.039 --> 00:20:26.640 had to the only way I could do is evaluate. And when one time, 282 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.200 years and years ago, I was invited to speak at my small group 283 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.119 and there were like five six people in the room and we sat in the 284 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:36.960 room and I spoke in nice too. They said that was pretty good, 285 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:41.000 Rick. And then later I got invited again to speak to our small group 286 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:42.400 to lead the group, and I go, hey, that was good. 287 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:47.759 That helped me. And then a little while later I got invited to speak 288 00:20:47.799 --> 00:20:52.880 to about fifteen guys and this little we were going on this backpacking thing, 289 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.039 camping thing together, and I spoke to them and people start saying, you 290 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:00.640 know, Rick, when you speak, God blesses it. Now, I 291 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:04.400 would have never known that I had the spiritual gift the teaching because I had 292 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:08.680 never done it. If you're not involved in anything, you don't know what 293 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:14.839 you're good at because you've never tried it. And so you evaluate and you 294 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:18.759 say, what is God blessed in my life? What do other people say 295 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:21.319 God bless us? What do I feel good at when I do it? 296 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.680 And I'm good at it when I do it? Now, as I said, 297 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:26.839 if you're not involved in anything, you're not going to know. That's 298 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.279 why the third thing is experiment. You just have to go out and try 299 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.640 stuff. I don't think you're ever going to learn your spiritual gift just by 300 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.920 taking a test. There are all kinds of tests you can go out there 301 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:41.079 and take, And actually I took one when I was a teenager on trying 302 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:47.000 to discover what my giftedness was spiritual gift, And the only thing the test 303 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:52.759 came up with is that I had the gift of martyrdom. Oh great martyrdom. 304 00:21:53.039 --> 00:21:56.559 That's the gift you get to use one time in your life, but 305 00:21:56.839 --> 00:22:00.839 it's over, okay, and you only get to use your spiritual gift the 306 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.920 last second of your life. The only thing I came up was I was 307 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:10.160 willing to die for my faith. Okay, big deal. It wasn't until 308 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:12.960 I start trying stuff and just try different things. That's not me, that's 309 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.440 not me. Oh I really like doing that, and I'm good at it. 310 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:19.680 And then you know where you're gifted. You know, when I first 311 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:25.079 start feeling that God was calling me to serve him full time, I actually 312 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:29.720 started out not as a pastor a preacher. I started out leading worship. 313 00:22:30.839 --> 00:22:34.920 Yeah, I was the skinny guy with long hair and guitar. And because 314 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:41.400 I led worship and probably oh about fifty churches, oh, different places, 315 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.640 you know, on one shot here, one shot there. And I love 316 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:47.839 to sing. I really have a heart for singing. The only problem was 317 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:53.720 nobody liked to hear me. Now, if you're you got a heart for 318 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.640 something and you think you're good at it, but nobody else thinks you're good 319 00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:03.480 at it, it's not your gift. Okay, just be honest and realize 320 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:07.680 you're not gifted at that. And if three people tell you you're a duck, 321 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:11.440 you're a duck. Okay, doesn't matter how good you think you are, 322 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:15.640 that's not your gift. And so you just need to be brutally honest, 323 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.039 have a sane evaluation, not less of yourself, not more of yourself. 324 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:22.839 This is what God wired me to be. And so you evaluate, 325 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:29.000 you examine your experiment, and you try all different kinds of things. Some 326 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:32.279 of you are sitting here one I'm waiting for God to tell me what he 327 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:37.559 wants me to do with my life. It ain't gonna happen. You cannot 328 00:23:37.559 --> 00:23:49.599 steer a parked car. Write that one down. You know, our brilliant 329 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:56.079 pastor said, you cannot steer a parked car. No, you got to 330 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.920 be moving, and if you're moving, God can steer you. So just 331 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:06.880 get out there, volunteer for something, anything, Just start using your life 332 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.200 to help other people, and God will steer you in the right. And 333 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:12.839 you're actually just don't wait because it's not going to fall on you like that. 334 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:18.160 So you discover them. The second thing you do is you dedicate them. 335 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:22.720 You dedicate your gifts back to God. The Bible says this in Romans 336 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:27.359 six. Give yourselves completely to God since you've been given new life. In 337 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:32.279 other words, he gave you all these gifts, and use your whole body 338 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:37.440 as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God. Now 339 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:40.480 some of you you already know what you're good at. It's no big surprise. 340 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:44.240 You know what you're good at. You're just not using it for the 341 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:48.599 Lord. You're using it for yourself. And what you need to do is 342 00:24:48.839 --> 00:24:51.440 want you to know what you're good at, you need to dedicate it to 343 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.160 God. God. I'm good at this. I'm dedicating it to you. 344 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:59.640 God, I'm good at that. I'm dedicating that to you. And the 345 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:03.720 reason and why you're not using for God is you're too busy, or you're 346 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:07.759 lazy, or you're making excuses or you have a fear of failure. Push 347 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.319 all those excuses out of the way, and to say, God, I 348 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:15.519 dedicate what you gave to me back to you. Third thing you do is 349 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:22.160 you develop your gifts. You discover them and then you dedicate them and then 350 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:26.200 you develop them. Now, gifts are like muscles. The more you use 351 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:30.119 it, the bigger it gets, and the more the more it develops, 352 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.799 you can strengthen and develop and you can grow what God has given you. 353 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:38.240 Any gift that God gives you should can and should be developed. And you 354 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.720 have a gift of teaching. It doesn't. No gift comes fully developed. 355 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:45.640 It comes into your life in a certain way, and the more you use 356 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:48.960 it, like a muscle. The more it develops, you get better at 357 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:53.279 it and better at it and better at it how by practice, by learning, 358 00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:57.400 by studying, by learning from other people who have the same gift, 359 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:03.920 and as you practice it you get better and better. Let me give you 360 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:07.839 a little secret. I've learned this personally. When God gives you something, 361 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:15.960 if you use it well, he gives you more of it, more talent, 362 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:26.519 more money, more fame, more relationships, more responsibility. When you 363 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:30.559 use what God gives you and you use it well, he says, ah, 364 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:34.720 I could trust that person. I'm going to give you more and more 365 00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:40.400 and more. Discover, dedicate, develop. The fourth thing you do is 366 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:44.680 you deploy. You deploy your spiritual gifts. And you know what deploy is. 367 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:47.880 We live near Pendleton, guys are being deployed all the time to Iraq 368 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.720 and everywhere else. It means you put it into service, you get out 369 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:56.160 onto the field, and you actually start doing something. Romans twelve says this 370 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:00.960 verse six, we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace 371 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:06.559 that God has given us. For instance, if our gift is to speak 372 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:10.920 God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have now 373 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:15.359 what's the best place to practice and develop and deploy and dedicate and discover your 374 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:22.160 gifts in a small group. In a small group, it's the safest place. 375 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:26.400 It's the testing ground. It's where I got started. It's where you 376 00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:30.720 need to get started. Now you see how brilliant this plan is that God 377 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:33.880 thought up God's plan for the churches. Here's what I'll do. I'll give 378 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:40.440 every single person in the church a different gift, and then everybody has a 379 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:45.799 place, everybody has a role, everybody gets involved, everybody can contribute, 380 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:52.440 and everybody gets rewarded, not just the pastor or somebody else. Imagine what 381 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:57.279 would happen if everybody in our church, I mean, we had no spectators. 382 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:00.640 What if we had no space dictators in our church? Look, you 383 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:06.200 lose. What if we had everybody said I know my gift and I'm using 384 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:08.920 my gift. What kind of power? What kind of impact would we have 385 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:18.519 on this world? We would be unstoppable, unstoppable if everybody discovered, dedicated, 386 00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:23.799 developed, and deployed their gifts. Now let's close this, let's review, 387 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:26.759 turn it back over and on the front side, look at these four 388 00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:30.880 gifts again that God's given you the gift of forgiveness, the gift of eternal 389 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:34.240 life, the gift of his spirit, and the gift of special abilities. 390 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:37.480 He gives those to you the moment you step across the line. Which of 391 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:44.000 these gifts are still unwrapped by you? Which of these gifts do you need 392 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:48.759 to unwrap? If you had bought an expensive gift for a friend and you 393 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:51.480 took it over to them, and a year latery you went over their house 394 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:56.039 and they hadn't even bothered on wrap it, you'd be hurt. In fact, 395 00:28:56.079 --> 00:29:00.240 you'd be offended. God has put some gifts in your life, and 396 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:03.240 he says, I want you to unwrap each of these. And he says, 397 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:07.559 when you accept my greatest gift, God so loved the world that he 398 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:11.359 gave his only begotten son, he said, you get all these other gifts, 399 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:15.039 and there's not a better time to receive than right now. Let's bow 400 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:23.160 our heads. Would you pray this prayer? Dear God, today I accept 401 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:32.079 your free gift of forgiveness. Thank you for forgiving everything I've ever done wrong. 402 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:40.799 I'm putting my trust in your grace. Dear God, today I accept 403 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:48.400 your free gift of eternal life. In Jesus Christ because of what he did 404 00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:52.440 for me, I know I can't earn my way to heaven. Dear God, 405 00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:59.519 I accept the free gift of your spirit into my life. Live through 406 00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:06.240 me and fill me with your love and joy and peace and patience. And 407 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:11.960 God, I accept the gift of special abilities that you've put in my life. 408 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:17.599 Help me to develop them, to discover them, to dedicate them, 409 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:26.079 to use them, to be the person you made me to be. If 410 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:27.920 you've never invited Christ in your life, said Jesus Christ, today, I 411 00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:33.440 invite you into my life and I accept your gifts in your name. I 412 00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:45.039 pray Amen. Hi everybody, this is Rick and I hope you enjoyed today's 413 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.880 broadcast. You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first 414 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:53.119 time, or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you 415 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:57.400 let me know about it. There's something real about sharing your commitment. So 416 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:02.599 write me Rick at pass dot com and say, Rick, I prayed that 417 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:06.359 prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ. And I'll send you 418 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:11.039 some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus. And I'll also pray 419 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:18.119 for you. God bless you. What a great message from Pastor Rick, 420 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:21.839 I hope it touched you just like it touched me today. And now let's 421 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:25.680 end our show with a closing thought from Rick. If you've been blessed by 422 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:29.160 this message today, here's what I want you to do. Share it, 423 00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:33.319 tell somebody about it now. There's a lot of great ways you can share 424 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:37.519 Daily Hope. One of the easiest is by posting it on social media on 425 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:42.359 Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn or Instagram. But you'll find a share button today 426 00:31:44.119 --> 00:31:48.759 next to the message on my website. If you'd like to share this broadcast, 427 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:52.039 just go to Pastororrick dot com, click on the listen tap. There 428 00:31:52.079 --> 00:31:56.319 you'll find buttons where you can share the message by email, social media, 429 00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:02.039 or WhatsApp. That's Pastor Rick. We hope you'll join us next time as 430 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:07.839 we continue to look into God's word for our daily hope. And this program 431 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:12.640 is sponsored by Pastorick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.